As the recession expands, so is enlistment in the military

Jeffrey Phelps

New recruit Rosa Juarez gets tested Thursday on her push-up form by Sgt. 1st Class John Williams at an Army recruiting office. Juarez comes to the center twice a week to prepare for basic training, which she will start when she leaves April 22.

By Meg Jones of the Journal Sentinel

Published on: 3/20/2009

Rosa Juarez lives with her sister and has been working a series of temp jobs for several years. Justin Silkey lives with his mom, makes 10 bucks an hour at a loading dock and doesn't see himself moving up the job ladder.

So both Milwaukeeans decided to trade the uncertain job market for guaranteed jobs in the U.S. Army.

Pfc. Silkey, 21, leaves next week for basic training - and a monthly paycheck of $1,568.70, plus housing, clothing, health insurance and three squares a day. Pvt. Juarez, 25, heads to Fort Jackson, S.C., next month and will soon cash a monthly paycheck of $1,399.50.

"The economy was just too bad. I couldn't wait any longer," said Juarez, who already has her bag packed even though she doesn't ship out until April 22.

As the United States on Friday marks the sixth anniversary of the Iraq war, these are boom times for military recruiters. The number of people walking into recruiting offices has grown as the economy withers. And while patriotism continues to be a motivation for some recruits, many also see the military as a job with generous benefits and little prospect of layoffs.

"Folks are losing their jobs, and the Army is still hiring," said Lt. Col. Dan Miller, commander of U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion Milwaukee.

Silkey has been unloading ultrasound machines in Cudahy since July 2007. The 2006 Hamilton High School graduate had always considered joining the Army, but it wasn't until the economy slackened and he noticed there was less work that he contacted a recruiter. Plus, he wanted a job with a future as well as health benefits.

"It always scared me - what would I do without health insurance because I'm on my mom's (insurance) until I'm 25," said Silkey, who will become a fire support specialist in an artillery unit and hopes to save enough to buy a new car and a motorcycle.

Aside from the jobless, those turning to the military include teenagers, college seniors and recent college graduates who can't find jobs. Plus, there are the teenagers who can't go to college because their parents have lost their jobs or because college funds invested in the stock market have dried up. Joining the military can mean a free college or trade school education.

In Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula, 829 people have enlisted in the regular Army and 317 in the Army Reserve since the fiscal year began Oct. 1. During the same period a year ago, 716 enlisted in the Army and 295 in the Army Reserve.

Nationally, all of the military branches, both active and reserve, met or exceeded recruiting goals in January and February. National Guard recruitment is also doing very well.

War no deterrent

Enlistees are well aware the military is fighting two wars, said Capt. Alton McCallum, a West Point graduate who commands an Army recruiting company in Milwaukee. His company handles Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha and Waukesha counties.

"In terms of deploying, they know they're deploying. It's not an issue for them," McCallum said. "All the applicants, we tell them, 'You will deploy, but there's also these benefits that will make your life better.' "

Among the benefits are recruiting bonuses up to $40,000, health care for service members and their families, paychecks that include housing allowances and possible separation pay for overseas deployments, college tuition and home mortgage programs.

Sgt. 1st Class John Williams, who oversees Army recruiting in the northern half of Milwaukee County, has seen an increase in the number of walk-ins, from one or two a day a few months ago to 10 a day. He noticed things really seemed to pick up in December when area businesses announced layoffs, and since February, he has seen a higher number of college graduates and college seniors.

"A lot of people keep the military in the back of their mind as their last option. Now it's moved to the front," said Williams, who has been an Army recruiter for more than seven years.

However, not everyone who wants to pull on a uniform can make the grade.

Not everyone qualifies

On average, only three out of 10 Army applicants between the ages of 17 and 24 will qualify, said Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson, Deputy Commanding General for the U.S. Army Recruiting Command out of Fort Knox in Kentucky. The others get turned down because of health or medical reasons, poor performance on the military aptitude test, or failing a security check.

"It all boils down to - these are people who will put on a uniform and represent the United States. Are they qualified?" Anderson said.

Many applicants who might think of the military as a last resort are finding out that criminal behavior, even while they were juveniles, prevents them from joining. The number of waivers for people with blemished records is dropping as the military meets its recruiting goals.

Sgt. 1st Class Jerome Hammonds, who heads up the Army recruiting station in Greenfield, has turned away those who think the Army will take just about anybody.

"There's a perception that because of the world situation that the Army has lowered its expectations, and we have not," Hammonds said.

The rise in obesity among American children has meant fewer teenagers passing the physical test to get in the military, which includes a two-mile run and timed sit-ups and push-ups. For those who are overweight yet committed to joining the military, recruiters often will assign prospective recruits a coach or mentor to help them lose weight and build up fitness so they can try again to pass the physical test, Miller said.

Meanwhile, older people also are stopping at recruiting offices. On Wednesday, Miller said a 36-year-old accountant with a master's in business administration visited a station and talked to a recruiter about officer candidate school.

"You still have the folks who come in because they want to serve . . . but now you've got the ranks of the unemployed. That presents challenges. We are not an unemployment agency," Anderson said.

Guard has few openings

Meanwhile, both the Wisconsin Army and Air National Guard are above 100% strength, said Maj. Jackie Guthrie.

Since National Guard and Reserves offer only part-time jobs, recruiters haven't seen as many people saying the economy is the reason for joining. Though there is always attrition in Wisconsin National Guard units, fewer people are leaving, which means fewer openings.

"We've had to slow down our recruiting. We don't have positions to fill, so we can't recruit to fill positions," Guthrie said. "It's just like a corporation - if I don't have a job, I can't hire you."

Juarez has been running and practicing push-ups and sit-ups in anticipation of basic training. The West Allis Central High School graduate has never exercised or competed in sports, and her last temporary job was assembling display boards for a New Berlin company. She has lived with her sister, a single mother, for several years and helps out with child care as well as household expenses.

Juarez has never been away from her family for an extended period of time. She'll be a cook in the Army.

"Since I got a job, I was living paycheck to paycheck," she said. "Now I'll be making money every month."